Reviews by AKBelgianBeast:

This nug pours a murky red/brown with a thin layer of white head. nose is malty. Taste is mostly malt with some hops throughout buy they are not real strong. Kind of bready with some yeast flavors and the tiniest bit of citrus. mouthfeel is average and it is pretty smooth and drinkable. A good session ale.

Clear amber with a short off-white head. Floral aroma with some citrus hops and a nice malty mix. Metallic bitterness up front with noble hops and caramel malt making up the back. More like an ESB than the hoppy red I was expecting. Its okay, but nothing I'll have again.

Pours with a rush of off-white head, carbonation settles quickly. Not the appearance I expected, as others have noted this has little in the way of red coloration with a soft golden glow instead. Taste is subtle without much depth, reminds me of buttered toast. Mouthfeel is a problem here, very dry and somewhat watery, I find myself puckering after each swallow as I try to understand what the brewer was going for here. A strange beer that tastes more like what I would expect from a mass-produced ESB, than a "brewmaster reserve" red ale. Once will be enough for me.

A spring 2007 seasonal release, the latest in the very solid Brewmaster's Reserve series. Pours a bright reddish amber color with a small, slightly creamy head. Aroma is mostly sweet malt, with some mildly unpleasant adjunct malt flavor. Notes of hazelnut and mild grapefruit round it out. Palate is a bit more exciting - tasty, lightly sweet malt balanced by a touch of fruity hops. A light biscuity character comes through on the finish. Body is smooth, almost like a good ESB. Goes down easily, but I'm not sure this measures up to the other Brewmaster's Reserve beers.

Tis a decent red ale. Pours a nice reddish amber color with a 1 finger white head that lasts nicely. Smell is of caramel malts with maybe a touch of hops.

Taste is not bad - caramel malts with just enough piny hops. Everything here is not very strong, but the flavors are pleasing and the balance is good - glad to have a fair level of hops in a red for a change. Still, nothing amazing - but a nice beer.

Picked up a bottle of this at the Trading Post grocery store in Bonner's Ferry, ID. Came in a brown 22 oz. bomber.

Pours out a deep hazy amber, creamy off-white head that lingers, and eventually settles to a thin cap. Lacing is sticky and forms in root-like patterns.

Spicy hops on the nose, along with some chewy toffee malt.

Both the malt and the hops seem a bit astringent upon tasting. The malt seems toasted and woody, even a bit charred. Some old leather in there as well. Hops possess a herbal note, juicy and bitter. Yet the total package really doesn't do anything to blow my skirt up... I experienced everything there was to offer within the first few sips, 22 ounces almost seems like too much at this point.

Mouthfeel is on the thin, watery side for the most part, although it doesn't have much impact on the flavour profile in general. A touch sticky as it rolls down the throat, although not so much along the palate.

A very average amber ale offering, not much to come back to unless you're really into your astringent hops in an easy drinking package.

The beer pours from the 22 ounce bottle a clear brownish Red with a substantial off white creamy head that fights a loosing battle against evaporation, with the lacing a velum like sheet on the glass. Nose has a malt sweetness, clean and crisp, with the start nicely malted; sweet and pleasant at front, top is moderate in feel. Finish has a strong acidity with the hops pleasantly spicy, dry aftertaste, another nice beer from a fantastic brewery.

A clear brown colored ale with a vivid red cast to it. Tall tan colored head

Smell is a little sweet and little phenolic with some herbal and patent malt aromas. A little bit of lemon and a fruit scent I can't quite identify some thing like bubble gum but not that. Butter in the scent also.

The flavor begins neutral and quite woody in flavor with some butter and caramel in the taste. A little bitterness but mostly this is dry and woody in the mouth. Fairly strong butter flavor in this beer and it is quite like a Wychwood beer, so if you hate Hobgoblin you will hate this.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Quite a drinkable beer and one bone dry ale. Whether this is drinkable or not will depend on you tolerance for butter beers. It is OK but I will buy something else next time.

Acquired via trade from Wasatch, so a big “Thank you” goes out to him. Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep copper color with a medium off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is fruity and hoppy with a good caramelized malt background.

T: The taste pretty nicely-balanced with flavors of caramel, citrus and a good dose of floral hops. The malt character is very hearty but still allows the hops to burst through. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

D: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, nice kick, this is another one of those hoppy red ales in the same vein as Cascazilla & Lagunitas Lucky 13. It has the hoppiness of an IPA but not as much harshness and being an IPA fan, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m enjoying the trend. While this one may not be quite as good as the previously mentioned beers, it’s still a very good beer.

Thanks to Wasatch for this brew..."Brewmaster Reserve 2007" on label...

Pours hazed amber with a thin off-white head that becomes a patch.

The smell is of caramel with soft citrus and floral notes in the background.

The taste is of caramel with some citrus. A tea-like leafy bitterness mixes in, almost clashing with the caramel, and even citus - but, it's light enough to not be too astringent. Grainy with a touch of alcohol in the dryish finish.

It reaches medium-bodied, though a tad thin for the level.

It could be a bit richer all-around (and the bitterness could mesh with sweetness a bit more), but on the whole it's a decent brew - a hoppyish amber/red ale - enough that I like it well enough.

scent has notes of toffee and earthy citrus, even a sense of skunky BO, which I expect from the advertised nugget hops.

flavor is a very clean two-row coupled with a "red" roastiness I associate with melanoidin malt. some green hop flavor, well balanced with the roasty red malt.

mouthfeel is medium, with a smoothness just under a full roast, without becoming astringent. hops finish is clean and cuts off quickly, leaving no other alternative but to take another sip.

a lot of reds seem to go over the top with hops, and this one seems quite restrained, to good effect. it retains its refreshing drinkable character without fatiguing the palate. I hope this becomes a regular full-sail offering; I'd definitely buy it again.

I first tasted this at the spring beer & wine festival in Portland, and tasted it (blind) for judging where my co-judges (all brewers) picked up on the nugget hop component, which resulted in a discussion of how nugget gets little respect due to its unique flavor character. full sail's brew proves nugget flavor can be a good thing, and that there are settings in which even the high-alpha varieties can shine. (summit is a descendant of nugget.)

pours not so much red but a hazey orange with a film of a head, but it is as white as i've seen. smells malty and i can't smell anything else but dust, as I have been helping the beast with his cellar just before this review. malty and hoppy but not much else, kind of bland. mouth-feel is crisp all the way through with a late peak, but not quite on the finish, a bit of the malty smoothness toward the end. drinks easy enough, not a bad brew, not medal worthy either

One of the periodical Brewmaster's Reserve releases from Full Sail. I like to think that these are the beers that Mr. Harris brews because it's what he wants to drink. As one should pay attention to what restaurants chefs like hang out in, so should one pay attention to the beers that brewers like to drink. This particular beer has a very nice deep ruby color with a rusty tan head that went away fairly quick despite the high-ish level of CO2. The label simply says "Nugget" where the name of the brew appears below the logotype. I can only assume that means that Nugget hops play a central role in this beer, which I am willing to believe given the solid belt of hoppiness that greets the imbiber. The hop character is pungent, resiny, herbal, piney and a tad orangey. This is carried nicely by the full, malty body, that delivers a satisfying touch of sweetness and touch of toastiness. The hop bitterness wins out and lingers after the party to help clean up, leaving a dry, foresty aftertaste. If you like big , hoppy beers, this is a pretty well-assembled package. I can imagine a happy brewer.

Pour: 22oz bottle to pint glass. An inch of tan head comes up over a burnt sienna body. The head recedes quickly, seemingly converging on itself from top and bottom. Thick with pock marks marring the surface, marking the erosion. A fine cap of lace remains with a hearty halo. No webbing along glass and only the stray bubble through the body.

Mouth: Fresh cut grass, bread crust, and earthy minerals immediately upon entering, slowly making its way back, the hops unfold through the center and rear of the mouth and exuding a bit of an alcoholic bite. Swallow is bitter pine but manages to mingle some toast flavor as well. Exhale is warm, but not tainted with the privously noted flavor of alcohol. Lingering bitter after taste is somewhat astringent. Maple syrup notes creep into the sinuses - there's definately some sweet element halfway through the mouth - but the hops rear their head towards swallowing and wash out the rest of the flavors. Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated with little bubbles which remain consistent through the voyage.

I could drink this bomber quite easily, but I'm not sure that it's something I want to seek out again. It's got quite a surprisingly strong hop presence that I expect many to love.

Bourbon colored with a pleasing, average, trustworthy 1 finger cream head. Held to light, this reveals more of a ruby red hue. Color-changing ale would have worked for a name if Nugget hadn't stuck, I suppose.

Starts with & carries through a mildly pricky hop character, a tart bitterness told. A mild breadiness works with it, but does not pull its load. Moderately watered in texture, looking for a tad more weight. Caramel malt and some girthiness or grit would have done wonders for this ale. As is, it is ok. Nothing offensive, really, but the blocks were there to build something more.

Pours a nice clean/clear dark amber color, nice carbonation, tiny fizzy head, not much lacing at all though. The nose is sweet malty, a little bit hoppy, lots of caramel. The taste is malty, bitter, slightly hoppy, and a good dose of caramel. The finish is dry/bitter. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a nice amber for sure, recommended.

22 oz. bottle in San Francisco. Light brown, orange color with a light beige head. Aroma was of light malt but mostly of light to medium hoppiness. Malty smell kicked in a bit more as it warmed. Taste is smooth, and mostly quite hoppy but not excessive. A touch of malt flavor but not much. Kind of like a weak IPA, but more drinkable if you can't handle the high bitter levels. Decent, but I wouldn't feel like I was missing out if I didn't come across this beer again.